Ink jet printers are well known and have been adapted to a variety of applications, such as: general office printers, point of sale terminals, scientific recording devices and postage metering systems. Generally, ink jet printers include a print head and a supply of ink. In order to print, a series of ink drops are ejected from the print head onto paper until a desired image is achieved. To keep the print head supplied with ink, a variety of ink delivery systems have been developed. In applications where the print head has a long life and the printer exhibits high volume usage, it is desirable to provide a disposable ink cartridge for supplying ink. In this manner, when the ink has been exhausted, a new ink cartridge may be conveniently installed.
There are several important considerations for ink jet printers employing disposable ink cartridges. A few of the considerations are described generally below in no particular order of importance. One consideration is ease of use. The ink cartridge must be easily inserted into and removed from the ink jet printer. That is, even an inexperienced operator must find this process intuitive and quick so that time is not wasted. Another consideration is assurance of a proper mating relationship between the ink cartridge and the ink jet printer. In this manner, ink may be properly delivered from the ink cartridge to the print head. Otherwise, poor quality printing may result. Yet another consideration is operator safety. Replacing ink cartridges must not put the operator at risk of injury due to exposure to sharp objects or moving parts.
Typically, a mailing machine includes a postage metering system. Because postage metering systems store and dispense postage, print quality takes on an even greater significance. The ink jet printer must operate reliably so that the operator does not experience a loss of postal funds (money). Therefore, proper delivery of ink from the ink cartridge to the print head is critical.
Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective mailing machine including an ink jet printer having a pocket assembly for receiving a disposable ink cartridge that is both easy and safe to install/remove and is designed to provide a proper mating relationship between the ink cartridge and the pocket assembly.